"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage." --Psalm 84:5, NKJV

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Gratitude, and letting God provide

So, I'm currently wide awake at almost 3 in the morning because I made a rookie jet lag mistake: I took a nap after finishing my walking for the day, and I didn't give myself ample time to acclimate to Spain time yet. But, that means I get to have time to write here. Part of me wishes I could write in my journal, but I really don't want to leave my bed--the blankets are quite cozy, and it would be nice if I could get tired enough to actually get some more sleep tonight.

Anyway, last night, I stayed in the Beilari, a small albergue with about 20 beds. As a private albergue, it was a bit pricey at 30 euros, but it included dinner and breakfast today, so it was very worth it. The owner, Joseph, had us play some games with an imaginary ball in order to get to know one another...kind of cheesy, but also fun. The last one was to sum up in one word what we were feeling at the moment, and I chose gratitude as my word.

See the white sign with the blue square right above the red arrow? That is what trail markers look like in France. I was so glad to see my first yellow arrow.

Once I started walking today, I realized how apropos that word is for me. My laundry didn't dry overnight because I was so late washing it, but the pilgrims office allowed me to use their dryer so that I could be on my way. This could have been very bad, since bag carrying services usually have a cut off time for giving your pack to them, but they held the transport for me so I could squeak my pack in. Just as I was getting so hungry that I thought my stomach would start to digest itself, I walked by a supermarket that had a bar attached, and I was able to spend a pleasant half hour resting my feet and drinking green tea. The list goes on...

Some of the many wildflowers I saw on my walk today... I was traveling over several hills, so seeing pretty flowers was a good pretext for stopping to rest a moment.

As I was walking, I didn't see another pilgrim, and it gave me a lot of time to think and pray--and that time meant realizing that I was also grateful that I didn't let the volunteers at the pilgrims office persuade me to take the higher route over the Pyrenees. I took the easier route, which meant walking along several rural roads--the route Napoleon is a dedicated walking trail, but is much more vertical. Cars on the narrow lanes meant stepping to the side in order to let them pass, and staying on the rural roads meant that I walked about 15km rather than only 12km, but I think I saw a total of 10 cars all day, and the walk through farmland and small towns was gorgeous.

At the same time, I started to feel a bit worried that I would not see another pilgrim tonight as well, so I began praying that I could at least be able to meet at least one other pilgrim this evening. After eating lunch by myself, I was pleasantly surprised to see the French couple from my stay at the Beilari at the albergue. Then, after my nap, I went out to explore the town a bit, and settled in a bar/cafe with wifi. While there, I overheard one of the people that came in say something about walking, so I piped up and asked if they were pilgrims...they were, and this couple at the end of the bar said they were, too. The couple is from Austin, and their son went to Blinn, where I work. The other pilgrims I met are 3 sisters and their cousin the priest walking together to celebrate Fr. Martin's 25th anniversary of ordination. They are from Ireland, and are only walking a very short part of the Camino, but we all had a very pleasant dinner and conversation. The highlight was listening to Martin and Keith (the Austenite) discuss middle eastern politics.

I made a video to add to my summer classes, and first, accidentally took a selfie with the Val Carlos country side in the background. Of course, stupid me didn't think to get pictures of my dinner friends.

One thing I didn't do today was change my socks halfway through, and I probably should have. When I finally stopped, the person at the supermarket told me that I was only 3km from my destination, Val Carlos. At that point, I thought about doing so, but decided that it wasn't far enough to make a difference.

Then, there came a choice of ways to walk into Val Carlos, and I chose the one that looked like it would wind through villages on rural roads rather than follow the local highway. And, that is how I ended up walking a good extra 3 km. By the time I got here, I could feel some places where my feet were rubbing, and was sure that I had a blister (I didn't, but I learned my lesson--another thing to be grateful for!).

So, God has again blessed me and given me more than I needed...no rain, good people to interact with, and a hope that there will be more of the same tomorrow. Even when it is hard, I am so grateful, and that makes even unpleasant experiences more pleasant.

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About Me

I am currently working at my dream job teaching Public Speaking and Communication at the community college level. I have some awesome colleagues here, as well.

My faith is very important to me--I am a devout Catholic who was raised protestant. Whenever I can, I spend time in Adoration and go to Mass. My favorite passages of scripture are Psalm 27 and Philippians 2: 1-12. The first is a pilgrimage psalm--from what I understand, it is a song that was often sung while travelling to Jerusalem. The second is considered to be one of the first recorded hymns of the early Church. It is my favorite description of God.

I also love hiking, running, and swimming, and try to do all three on a regular basis. I ran my first half-marathon in February, 2013, my first 25k in May, 2013 and will be doing my first triathlon in April 2015.

I also walked about 150 miles of the Camino in Aug-Sept, 2013. I wanted to walk all 500 miles, but it worked better with my job to go earlier and for a shorter distance. At this point, I'm planning on returning in 2016 to celebrate my 40th birthday, and hope to complete the whole Camino Frances at that point. Depending on what the doctors tell me, I may be bicycling rather than walking, but St. James and I have some more business to do. I cherish the time I had on the way of St James last year, and look forward to setting aside the time to be able to focus on my relationship with God again.

Doing all of these things will complete several of the items on my "bucket list," for which I am very thankful. Other items that I will still need to accomplish: become debt free, buy a brand new car with cash, through-hike the Appalachian trail, visit every European country and every continent, become a mom, write a novel and get it published, and run the Boston Marathon if I can ever become a faster runner.

I am currently living with my adult niece as well as 2 cats and 2 dogs. Only one of each is mine, but Amber's critters are also sweet. My dog Ginger also likes running and hiking, and she is hilarious when she realizes that I'm going to be doing one of these things. It is a sight to behold!

All and all I'm incredibly blessed, and thankful that the Lord has given me so many things to be thankful for.